


Life on Boros

by smolassassinchildx (smolassassinchild)



Series: Out of the Black--Old Series [3]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Firefly
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-23
Updated: 2009-05-23
Packaged: 2017-10-03 05:49:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolassassinchild/pseuds/smolassassinchildx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What were Dee, Gaeta, and Hoshi up to during the missing year?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life on Boros

  
Day 1.

  
Even out in the guest house, the room was thick with incense. She couldn’t see any smoke but she felt the wisps of scent envelope her as she stared up at the ceiling from her bedroll. Just before they disembarked from Serenity, Inara had told Dee about a Buddhist monastery in the city that opened its doors to travelers and to let it be known she’d sent them there.

  
“I should be more tired than this,” she said, mostly to herself. The unfortunate downside of having two roommates prevented her words from being secret.

  
“I know what you mean.”

  
Dee rolled over onto her side, looking up at Gaeta and Hoshi who had taken up residence on the futon and felt a pang of jealousy as she watched them; they looked so content just cuddled up against each other. The jealousy subsided quickly, replaced with gratefulness that she wasn’t alone here.

  
Gaeta’s arm hung off the side of the futon as he stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to fall asleep tonight.”

  
“This is the rest of our lives,” Hoshi said, sounding like he was struggling to wrap his mind around the idea.

“Three years of running and fighting and flying and searching, and now it’s over.” Her mouth tugged itself into a grimace. “We’re really off _Galactica_ for good.”

  
“Well, maybe we’re wrong.” Gaeta rolled onto his side. “We thought New Caprica was going to be the end to everything and that only lasted a year.”

  
Dee pushed herself up to sit. “Yeah but on New Caprica everyone was so busy; we had to actually create a new way of life. This is…”

  
“Something else entirely,” Hoshi finished. “I have no idea what I’m going to do when I wake up tomorrow morning.” Gaeta slipped his arm around him and pulled him closer.

  
“We could get jobs,” Dee replied dryly. “We can’t exactly stay in this guest house forever.”

  
“We need work papers first.” Hoshi was quick to jump in. “And ID. Captain Reynolds gave me a contact that might be able to help. But even with the fake IDs, we effectively don’t exist here.”

  
“Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.” Gaeta heaved a sigh. “I’m comfortable with the Alliance not knowing we exist. That’s the point isn’t it?”

  
“To spend the rest of our lives not existing…” Dee rolled over onto her stomach, fiddling with the ring she still wore that really didn’t have any meaning anymore. “More running, more hiding.”

  
“You miss it already, don’t you?” she heard Felix ask, but didn’t bother to look up.

  
She heaved a sigh. “I joined the military to be a part of something, to do good. And I was good at it.” It wasn’t bragging, it was mourning. “Do we even have a reason to wake up in the morning anymore?”

  
“Of course we do,” Gaeta said, his voice firm and full of conviction. “We may not have the fleet anymore, but there’s still things to be done to do good. If you haven’t noticed it’s pretty frakked up here.”

  
Dee laughed bitterly. “I bet Tom Zarek’s losing his mind. Anyone else think he’ll be the first one of us the Alliance catches?”

  
“The Alliance won’t catch us,” Hoshi spoke through a yawn, exhaustion finally catching up with him. “They have no idea we’re here.”

  
“For now,” she finished and the room descended into silence.

  
Silence.

  
Peaceful silence.

  
Too quiet for her to sleep.

  
It was only when Gaeta began to sing softly in the darkness that she was finally able to drift off.

  
Day 2.

  
He wasn’t sure when he’d drifted off or when he’d woken up, but he was bathed in sunlight nonetheless. As he sat up, Gaeta tried to remember the last time he woke up to sunlight like this. He wasn’t even sure that it had ever happened on New Caprica.

  
Yawning, he reached for his crutches at the foot of the futon and pulled himself out of bed. He crossed to the window and looked up into the sky. Blue. A blue sky and very few clouds. It could take some getting used to.

  
Just barely visible in the daylight sky, the faint outline of a moon hovered above the barely distant city skyline- around it, just the hint of light bouncing off of several large ships. It was a sight that, on New Caprica, once made him feel secure. Here on Boros, it made him feel a little bit sick to his stomach. The Alliance ships glinted up in the sky like the eye of a predator about to pounce.

  
*~*

  
“You miss him.” It was a statement, not a question. Felix had found her sitting on a bench in the garden outside the temple, still fiddling with that ring.

  
“Yeah,” she replied. “I miss him... and I miss Billy. I miss the Old Man. I miss Tigh. I miss my rack. I miss the triad games. I miss ambrosia. I miss how busy it was in CIC.”

  
She was distant, too distant. He didn’t like it. “I miss my leg,” he said dryly.

  
She almost laughed. “You win.”

  
“Did you say goodbye?”

  
“Hmn?”

  
“When we were on Serenity, did you say goodbye?”

  
She just looked down at her ring. “In passing. It wasn’t a big deal. We’re over. We have been for a while.”

  
“And you still have the ring?”

  
“It’s a nice ring.”

*~*

  
"Well, Mister... Hoshi, was it? What can I do for you?"

  
Apparently seedy bars were a universal for the human race. Louis was acutely aware that the man was accompanied by several large thugs but he kept his composure, hands folded on the table in front of him, eyes never once wandering from the man's face. "I'm an... acquaintance of Malcolm Reynolds. He told me I could find you here." Only for a few days, the man was usually based out of Persephone. He had to move fast if he was going to make this work.

He watched as the man's mouth twisted itself into a kind of smirk that he could not find the humor in. "Is that a fact?" Not only did he look just like that lawyer, Lampkin, he sounded just like him as well.

  
"It is. Are you an associate of his?"

  
Even the thugs laughed at this one. "Reynolds does some jobs for me when I need them, nothin' more." He adjusted the ratty looking tie he wore around his neck. "Can't imagine why he'd send you to me."

  
Hoshi sat up straighter in his chair, hands falling to his lap. "My friends and I are in need of... documents. Work papers. Captain Reynolds told us you could obtain them for us."

  
"I'm a well connected businessman, Mr. Hoshi. I can get anything. Tell me, though, why should I get these papers for you?" He had barely finished his sentence before glancing down at the bullet that was now burried in the seat of his chair,

  
The din of the bar had masked the tell-tale rush of air from a silenced gun which Hoshi slid into view and placed on the table in front of him. "Captain Reynolds also said you might be reluctant to help."

  
As the two larger men lunged forward, the 'businessman' held up a hand signaling them to stop. His eyebrows bounced up slightly as he spoke. "I like this one."

Day 5.

  
Dee’s eyes fluttered open to the dull half-light of early morning and realized that it was, in fact, possible to go out and do something fun.

  
*~*

  
Boros City was largely industrial. Blocks and blocks of factories and workers in grease stained work clothes. But for just one small section of the city, smog and grime gave way to suits and silks and buildings that reached up to the sky. People milled about the sidewalks, shuttles buzzed through the air, and a general cacophony hung in the air. It could have been a city on any of the colonies, a city any of them had been to countless times in the past. There were more people on the blocks they passed than there had been in the entire fleet.

  
Felix did his best not to grumble as they manuevered through the crowds. He was grateful that Dee and Louis walked on either side of him, walking as a unit made it a bit easier for him to make his way down the street. People in the more industrial areas had given them a wider berth; whether it was out of respect or a desire to avoid, it didn't much matter. When they had reached the city's cultural center, it seemed like everyone thought they owned the sidewalk.

  
One woman in particular pushed right between Felix and Dee, her foot caught on his crutch as she walked by and knocked it out from underneath him.

  
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Dee called over her shoulder, as she and Louis caught Felix by the shoulders before he fell.

The words got lost in the din of the city.

  
*~*

  
The plaque on the wall said that the painting was called _Unification_. Apparently, history books weren’t the only things made by the victors.

  
The canvas portrayed an elegant cosmos illuminated by a single, great, white light. The plaque also said it had been revealed on the first anniversary of the defeat of the Browncoats and it hung in the museum on Boros to serve as a reminder about how fortunate they were now to have been relieved of the dreaded presence of the Independents that had once flourished on the planet.

  
Dee thought it looked more like a threat than anything else, especially after they’d passed two Alliance soldiers standing guard at the museum on their way in.

  
*~*

  
Hoshi drew the deck of hexagonal cards out of his pack. “Found these in the mess hall before we left. I thought there’d be a night we’d need these.”

  
“What’re we going to bet?” Gaeta asked as he watched Hoshi shuffle and deal out the cards. He picked up his hand and thought about the hands that touched them before, traces of people who’d died and people who were still out there somewhere.

  
“We could bet cubits, even though they’re pretty much just shiny pieces of metal now.” Dee studied her hand, but frowned at the thought. It was too much like betting memories.

  
Day 9.

  
“Shut up. Stop it. I will hit you." Dee's hands tensed as she stood against the far wall, in actuality only about ten feet away.

  
“I didn’t say anything.” Felix couldn't hide the smirk that was tugging at the corner of his mouth.

  
She folded her arms over her chest. “You were snickering.”

  
“Well it’s funny.”

  
“See." She jabbed her finger towards him. "This is why I left before you woke up.”

  
“Yeah, but-”

  
“No. No, this is humiliating enough as it is.”

  
“You are_ working _in a skirt and heels. This is hilarious.”

  
“Felix Gaeta, I swear to the gods if you don’t stop laughing-”

  
“So, Dee,” Louis cut in. “How was work?”

  
“It sucked,” she groaned as she slumped against the wall. “I spent the entire day directing people’s calls.”

  
“So… not unlike-“

  
“Yes 'unlike.' There’s a difference between blowhard CEOs with cranky clients and… it doesn’t mean anything. There’s nothing good about what I do. I just miss… and I somehow ended up in the men’s bathroom.”

  
_“Men’s_ bathroom? They separate bathrooms by gender?” Felix asked.

  
“Yeah,” Dee grumbled.

  
“That’s so weird.”

  
Day 14.

  
About to rain smells like about to rain no matter where you are in the universe apparently. The smell of water about to fall hung heavy in the air as they walked through the gardens.

  
“Two weeks,” Louis commented.

  
“I don’t know if I should say ‘only?’ or ‘already?’”

  
Louis reached for his hand. “I know what you mean. Do you think we can make it work here?”

  
Felix’s lips brushed against Louis’s. “I know we can.”

Day 23.

  
“I think it’s smaller than the guest house,” Felix teased as he walked into the living room. Seeing Dee raise her hand to follow through on repeated threats to smack him he recanted with a smile. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding!”

  
“Dee, this is amazing.” Louis said as he took stock of the room. “I thought you didn’t have a paycheck yet. How could you afford-?”

  
She held up her left hand, flashing a bare ring finger. “Apparently it’s a rare metal here.”

  
“You sold your…” Felix said. “Why?”

  
Dee shrugged. “We need this-” she gestured around the apartment, “-more than I need to cling to a marriage that’s been over with for a while. Besides, we actually have our own place now!” She said, rocking up onto the balls of her feet.

  
Felix smiled as he sank down onto the threadbare couch, the lone piece of furniture in the living room. “I like it.” He said matter-of-factly as Louis joined him on the couch. “It’s very… fugitives on the run.”

  
“Oh, and I saved the best for last,” she said as she disappeared into the tiny excuse for a kitchen, only to reappear seconds later with three bottles of presumably beer.

  
“To us,” she toasted.

  
“To us,” they echoed.

  
Day 43.

  
“Heads or tails?” Louis asked, raising the coin.

  
“Tails,” Dee called it in the air.

  
Clink.

  
“Tails,” he grumbled as it landed.

  
“You’ve got dish duty, Louis.” She grinned.

  
He cast a pleading look to Felix who grinned as well. “Sorry, baby. The cook is exempt from doing dishes.”

  
Day 75.

  
Felix stared down into the glass of brown liquid in front of him. “I’m going to pay you back, I promise.”

  
Louis smiled across the table at him. “Don’t worry about it. I like taking you out.” It took him only a moment to realize he wasn’t actually talking about his desire to split the bar tab. “Still no luck finding a job?”

  
“None whatsoever,” he said with a sigh, swirling the liquid in the glass but still not yet taking a sip. “I think it’s the leg…”

  
“Just forget about that for now,” Louis pleaded, trying to think of anything to say. “If you could be doing anything right now… anything at all, what would it be?”

  
“Anything?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “I guess… if I could be doing anything… it’d be finishing my degree… I put everything on hold for the military… not like I have the money for graduate school.”

  
“I think if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past three years, it’s that nothing is impossible.” He smiled.

  
"I'd have to start all over. It's not like any of my credits from the Colonies will transfer here."

  
Louis reached across the table, placing his hand on top of Felix's. "Okay, so you have to start your degree over. We've been starting our entire lives over. It's just one more thing."

  
Day 101.

  
“Heads or tails?” Dee asked, raising the coin.

  
“Tails,” Felix called it in the air.

  
Clink.

  
“Heads,” She grinned as it landed.

  
“Frak!”

  
Day 283.

  
Louis stared into the darkness long after Felix had fallen asleep. No matter how exhausted he was from taking on a second job, he just wasn't able to unwind. He'd have to get sleep one of these nights, but right now it just was not happening. He lightly pushed himself out of bed, trying not to disturb Felix and stumbled from the bedroom, rubbing at his eyes.

  
As his vision cleared, he saw Dee sprawled on the couch. At the early hour just a glimmer of moonlight fell in through the window, but the most illumination came from the blue glow from the holoscreen spitting out only the news stories the Alliance wanted heard.

  
“What are you doing up?” he asked through a yawn.

  
“Couldn’t sleep,” she said with a shrug, turning her attention back to the news.

  
“Anything good on?” Louis closed the door to keep the conversation in the living room where it belonged.

  
“Just some big to do over a new Alliance Cruiser that got finished up on Ares,”  she muttered, jerking her thumb at the glimmer of moon that could be seen out the window for emphasis.

  
“Like we need another one of those,” he said, taking up a seat on the armrest. “Does it make you miss the Fleet?”

  
She paused for a moment, weighing the thought in her mind. “No.” Her voice was firm. “It might be a warship… but it will never have what we had on _Galactica_.”

  
“A drunk XO with a missing eye?” he joked.

  
“For starters.” She laughed softly before the joy died away. “Frakking Alliance.”

  
“I know… but what can we do about it?”

  
“Us three? Probably nothing,” she said with a sigh.

  
Day 391.

  
“I’m bored,” Felix said as he stared up at the ceiling. “It’s a Saturday night, we should be doing something.”

  
“We could go out and get drunk or we can stay in and get drunk,” Dee suggested from the kitchen where she was tidying up from dinner.

  
“That does not sound like a bad plan.” He smiled. “Hey why don’t we go to-”

  
His sentence was cut short by the electronic beep of an incoming wave.

  
“Who’d be calling us?” Dee grumbled, not bothering to look up from her cleaning.

  
“I’ll get it,” Felix said, making his way over to the telephonix screen. A brief silence descended over the room, and it was that hush that grabbed the attention of the others. Louis and Dee began to crowd towards the screen as they heard Felix begin to speak.

“Gods Starbuck, you look like hell.”

 

\--End--


End file.
